Tom E Lewis is generous with his time and his tales. On a sunny day in the dry-season he sits cross-legged on the grass outside the Katherine visitor centre with me for more than an hour, pausing only to greet fellow country-men a…

Young people continue to support the RCD Fund, showing that they too can make brain matter.

Bayside charity, the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation (RCD Fund), has seen exponential growth since its outset less than 12 months ago. This has been attributed to the substantial support from the youth community.

The fund was established in honor of local boy Robert ‘Connor’ Dawes, who lost his battle to a brain tumor in April 2013.

Since then, Connor’s family and friends have worked tirelessly to build a foundation to support the research of pediatric brain cancers and the care and development of children fighting this disease.

The RCD Fund’s individuality comes from it’s marketing towards young people. Executive Director of the RCD Fund Liz Dawes sees the youth as having a positive, uplifting energy about them and that given the opportunity, can make a difference in a battle relevant to them.

Now in the midst of launching Victoria’s first Brain Week , the RCD Fund has a chance to partner with the Cancer Council Victoria to raise the awareness of Brain Cancer and it’s desperate need for research funding.

With the slogan “We Have 7 Days To Make Brain Matter”, the RCD Fund is building this awareness through schools, looking for statewide support.

Its goal is to have a collective voice putting brain cancer on the map so that more funding and research can go into eradicating the most lethal of all cancers.

“Our plan for Brain Week is to get the youth embracing it,” said Ms Dawes “We’re going to the young people saying, ‘you can help spread the message.”

Brain Week will start on Sunday the 27th of April.

Registrations for the 2014 Connor’s run will open in the coming weeks.

“The pub is owned by a burly man named Rusty; no one associated with the pub knows him by any other name…Its owner says it’s under threat of being put out of business, thanks to the Melbourne City Council’s new smoking bans.”